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Luis Pena has spoken out for the first time since being charged with domestic violence last year.
The former UFC lightweight, who was released following his arrest, recently took to his Instagram account to post an image of himself showing his middle finger inside the Octagon. The caption read:
"These last 2 months have been quite the journey for me….only the strong survive baby I been gone but now I’m back back to life and back to reality"
The Italian-born fighter was arrested on charges of causing bodily harm and battery domestic violence by police officers in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on October 9, 2021.
A $1,000 bond was attached to the battery charge. Pena was arrested and booked into the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Unfortunately, it was not the first time Pena had had a run-in with the law. The 28-year-old was also arrested four months earlier in June, that time on robbery charges. The arrest occurred in Coral Springs, Florida.
The turbulent UFC career of Luis Pena
Luis Pena has a UFC record of five wins and three losses. He made his promotional debut in 2018 against Richie Smullen at The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated finale. He won the fight via submission (guillotine choke).
Pena also holds a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and trained at Dan Lambert's American Top Team gym. ATT currently trains notable UFC fighters such as Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
At UFC Fight Night: Korean Zombie vs. Rodriguez, the 29-year-old suffered his first loss in the UFC and MMA against Michael Trizano via split decision.
Pena's most recent victory came against Alexander Munoz at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum. He won that contest via split decision.
The Italian-born American, who goes by the name 'Violent Bob Ross', was cut from the UFC owing to his recent arrest. A statement made by UFC officials, first reported by TMZ, stated:
“UFC is aware of the disturbing allegations concerning the recent arrest of Luis Pena. Mr. Pena has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse issues and the organization has on multiple prior occasions attempted to help him get professional treatment."
It remains to be seen what Pena's future in MMA will be.
